Last few days

The last few days spent by the teenagers here seemed to fly right by. One minute we were picking them up from the airport, and the next we were packing suitcases again. It’s only their second trip home since going to college but I think they’ve got this travelling light thing sorted.

Anyway, here are some of the photos of their last few days in Dubai. Joseph took these photos of the sunset while we were in the car on our way to dinner.

It is difficult to get a panoramic view of Dubai these days without it being ruined by construction equipment. You end up having to crop all that shit out. I wonder if there will ever come a time when we won’t have to look at another traffic cone or road barrier or construction crane in Dubai ever again? Probably never.

Selfies with a chunky DSLR. Try it, I dare you! It’s not easy. First you need long arms. Mine are okay if I use the right lens. And yes, you need a good lens, the kit lens (18-55mm) is okay under certain circumstances and never when it’s dark (slow shutter speed). Never ever do it with a fixed lens, unless you are lucky and rich enough to have a 35mm prime lens.

We had dinner at Ketchup – famous for two things: their colossal burgers and Ashton Kutcher. No, AK was not at the restaurant when we visited. Joseph was the only one who ordered The Stack. It has double patties, beef bacon, cheddar cheese, sauteed mushrooms and the bun of course. Doesn’t sound like much, but it was at least 7 inches tall! He polished it off his plate, with a little help from his sister, and declared it to be good. Notice the slightly bulging tummies here post-dinner, and the obvious delight in Joseph’s face.

Here’s a better shot. That is not just baby fat. That’s a New Yorker meal right there.

Out and about a couple of days before they left, we were doing some last minute shopping and I brought the 85mm lens with me. Here’s us trying to take photos on full manual mode. I think I took this one of Eibee.

And this is Bernie using the camera after so long. Came out okay I think. At least he still remembers his basic lessons.

And me, of course, because I like my compositions to be tight and clean. But that’s just me.

God, I look terrible here. Well, in fairness, we had little sleep the night before since we were doing last minute packing and were up bright and early for the roadtrip to Abu Dhabi airport. The kids were all dressed up as they were flying business class on a staff ticket (thanks again, Lisa!). I have yet to hear their story of how they enjoyed that flight – the ungrateful devils. Anyway, so that’s the last of their Dubai adventure for this year.